Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Spire Wealth Management

Spire Wealth Management cut its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,182 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 3,243 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $3,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 14,037.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,349,176 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $148,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,633 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 4.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,208,711 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $3,022,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,219 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 30.8% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,627,373 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $351,311,000 after purchasing an additional 853,997 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 28.0% in the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,664,856 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $354,941,000 after buying an additional 801,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,423,715 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock valued at $234,737,000 after buying an additional 783,090 shares during the period. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

Shares of ABT stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $106.07. 221,354 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,481,183. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $112.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.78. The company has a market cap of $184.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.91, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.76. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $89.67 and a 12 month high of $121.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.18% and a net margin of 13.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James restated a “buy” rating and set a $124.00 target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $128.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total value of $114,115.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Daniel Gesua Sive Salvadori sold 963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.50, for a total transaction of $114,115.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,895,094.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,670,048. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.